iPhone line in downtown Chicago dampened by foul weather

The queue outside the North Michigan Avenue Apple Store for the iPhone 3G …

When I arrived to one of Apple's flagship stores on the Magnificent Mile at 7 PM Thursday night, rain had been falling for about two hours. Having waited in line at this very location a few years ago while folks where lined around the block eagerly anticipating the release of Tiger, I was somewhat disappointed to find just six people in line for the iPhone 3G. C'mon, Chicago fanboys, where ya at?

The lucky first spot was filled by Andy Pichotta, a 19-year-old UW Madison student from Janesville, Wisconsin. Pichotta dragged his friend Austin Scieszinski with him to wait in line for the updated mobile device. The two teens are in town visiting a friend in the Chicagoland area.

Pichotta nabbed fourth place in line to buy his original iPhone on its release date last June at the Bayshore Apple Store in Wisconsin, which happened to coincide with that store's grand opening. Pichotta didn't expect to be the first in line when he and his friend arrived at the Apple Store at 3 PM this afternoon. He attributed the short line to the inclement weather, with predictions of thunderstorms and hail throughout the night. "Several people came by, and said they expected to come back in the morning around 3 or 4 AM," he said.

18-year-old Leland Brewster claimed the number three spot in line. "Hey, we're young college students. We've got nothing better to do." Ain't that right. Jason Schmidt, number four in line, had a slightly different perspective. "I'm a college grad, I have a job. But I've also got my priorities," he said. "I just think the experience will be fun," says Pichotta. "The Apple Store workers go out of their way to make it an 'experience.' AT&T is OK, but I'm not really a fan of their customer service."

Ten people had lined up just before thunderstorms poured down over Chicago at 8 PM Thursday.

As we chatted, a few other enthusiastic iPhone owners queued up for the long wait for 8 AM. In all, there were 10 in line before I left to take cover from the threatening clouds coming in from the west. The group fielded repeated questions from the mass of shoppers and tourists that passed by. "What are you in line for?" they would ask. "iPhone 3G!" was the enthusiastic response. "Oh? What's that?"

With the leak of the iPhone 2.0 firmware and the iPhone having been on sale all day in other parts of the world, it seems that the enthusiasm isn't quite as high as it was just over one year ago. But, that won't stop this small group from waiting all night, as it continues to rain in the Windy City.